Eastern North Carolina Sports Development, a nonprofit organization, honored two of the state's best ever high school coaches at the Aberdeen High School museum recently.

Robert E. Lee, of Seven Lakes, and Hugh Bowman III, of Aberdeen, were presented the first two copies of the new book covering "The History Of Six-Man Football Plus The History Of Girls Basketball - The Two Divisional Game." The publications were presented by ENCSD head researcher and author John Ormsby. This is the first book in a series, and this volume covers Aberdeen High School specifically.

Aberdeen was arguably the best high school girl's basketball team of the late 1940s and 1950s under the direction of Robert E. Lee. He was by far the number-one advocate and leader of the time for the girls' game. He was responsible for the first girls' basketball challenge game held at Reynolds Coliseum on the campus of North Carolina State University and was the driving force behind establishing the first girls' basketball state championship tournament. His teams played in four state championships, winning the title in 1953 and runner-up in 1950. He also won a record eight straight Moore County championships.

Hugh Bowman established Aberdeen as one of the top six-man teams in the state that included one state championship in 1956 and a runner-up in 1957. His teams were consistently ranked in the top 10 and for many weeks rated as the top team in the state. Copies of the 218-page book, complete with detailed coverage of each game and with photos, are available at the museum or by mail from ENCSD, P.O. Box 4094, Greenville, NC 27836. The cost of each copy is $20, plus $4 shipping and handling, and is tax-deductible, with a portion of the proceeds going to the museum. Anyone interested in tax-deductible contribution for purchasing copies to be donated to the libraries throughout the state should contact the museum at (910) 944-1342 or ENCSD at (252) 758-5344.